| Intro | Senegalese draughts player |
| Was |
Draughts player Translator |
| From | Senegal |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
1935 |
| Death |
20 August 1978, Dakar, Senegal |
Baba Sy (1935 in Donaye, Senegal – August 20 1978) was a Senegalese international draughts player and the first world champion from Africa.
He is said to have been “discovered” by a French player visiting Dakar. In 1959.
In 1962 Germany organized a “big game/party”, he was the only Senegalese and only African. He played against 150 players simultaneously spending few seconds per table. Several champions are part of the “big game/party” and he is declared the winner, beating the other 150 players.
Baba Sy won the French championship in Châtellerault. A dispute in 1963–64 World Championship was undecided by his death in a car accident in 1978, but he was posthumously declared victor in 1986. The matter caused some debate over the years.
He is sometimes seen as a pioneer who paved the way for other African players.
Publications
- Ton Sijbrands: Le grand livre de Baba Sy = Het groot Baba Sy boek. Voorst, 1989. ISBN 90-71811-03-4
- Govert Westerveld: Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts – Volume I. Blanca, 2015. ISBN 978-1-326-39729-6
- Govert Westerveld: Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts– Volume II. Blanca, 2015. ISBN 978-1-326-43862-3